One down, 205 to go!

With four boys it was only a matter of time before someone broke a bone.

It is that time.

Yesterday afternoon Eli came in from the trampoline crying. He was knocked down by his brother while they were jumping on the the trampoline. He didn't fall off, he fell down. Apparently he landed wrong. He told me what happened and he said his hand felt like it was too heavy to hold up.
I knew it was something serious when the whimpering and whining continued after ice, kisses and a short nap.
I took him to Urgent Care. At first he was holding his arm, then he was laying on it, using it as a pillow. He held my phone while playing games. As the evening progressed I was kicking myself for "wasting" our time and money at Urgent Care. I kept thinking that I should have waited longer for the pain to subside because he was *obviously fine!

The doctor came in, checked his arm, heart and lungs (?), asked him some questions and left to look at the x-rays.



Imagine my surprise when he returned and said "it's broken!"

*what is obvious is that I have no medical training!

Falling

I love this time of year. I love the cool mornings, the leaves rustling in the wind, the smell of the air, the feel of the wind on my face.
I love the way I smell after I play in the leaves. I love having to wear a sweatshirt because all of the windows are open and it is just a little chilly.

With all of the things I love about this season there is one thing I don't like.

Depression

My depression is manageable. I take daily medications that make me functional, happy on most days. But every fall around mid-October, without fail, I become sad. I want to lay in bed, snuggled up, hiding from the world. I want to sleep the days, weeks, and months away. I want to hibernate like a bear until the spring comes.
Is it the change in the amount of sun I get? Possibly. Is it the added stress of homework times 4? I am sure that adds to it.

I have my good days and my bad days. I am able to function daily thanks to modern medicine.
The thing that always makes me whole again (even for just a minute) is the Spirit of Christ. I felt it today while I watched this:

Lifting Burdens

I know that true peace and happiness is found from only through Jesus Christ. He is my Redeemer, my Savior, my Advocate with the Father. He knows me and loves me.
He has felt my sadness and is there to comfort me. I am sad, but I won't always be. There is hope in Him. I will one day be whole and it is His gift to me.

PS. Please don't take this as a "pity post". It is a post about how I feel. My love of the changing weather and my dislike of hereditary medical issues. Nothing more. Maybe now you'll understand me (and my moods) a bit better.

Young Love

There are milestones a mother waits expectantly for her children to pass...
crawling,
the first word,
the first tooth,
the first day of school, the list is endless really.
I passed another first today. K, passed isn't the right word... "crashed into" better describes it.

Garrett (my 14 year old) has a "girlfriend". He had mentioned liking a girl. He sees her a few times a year at church youth functions. Apparently it is reciprocated.




Tonight when I picked him up from a youth dance I asked him to point her out to me. I assumed this would be done from a distance... across the gym, through the dim lighting, I would get a glimse of my son's first love. BUT he went to get her and upon their approach they were holding hands. My baby was holding hands with a girl! We were introduced and I remember talking, but the whole time I was thinking... "be cool, don't freak out about the hand holding, be cool" so I don't remember much of what I said.


I was not prepared for this.